Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Heart of the Home

If it's true what they say, that the kitchen is the heart of the home, then we needed to be on a transplant list...and STAT! That was two years ago though, and thankfully a wonderful donor came along and now things are pumping and not even missing a beat!

When we first looked at this house, which was a chore in and of itself since Mr. Tide didn't even want to get out of the car, I knew one of the first things to go would be the kitchen. It wasn't that it was horrible, or even that old, it wasn't even 10 years old, but I knew that with my dish obsession and with a teenage boy still at home who needed lots of nourishment, there was no way this was going to work for us!

Aside from it's functional shortcomings, it wasn't exactly our style either, with mauve countertops, a floral tiled floor, and pickled wood cabinetry. Again, nothing outrageous or hideous by any stretch, but I just wasn't onboard with it being my forever kitchen.

This is how it looked when the previous owners were packing up. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.

The previous owners were in their late 80's and everyone on our street says that she was an amazing Italian cook, they had 2 refrigerators inside the house, and 2 more in the garage! I bet there were some yummy meals prepared in here.

I knew it would be quite awhile before we could start the renovation, since the kitchen was just the tip of the iceberg, so I thought painting it a cheerful apple green would help! I also knew from the day we bought the house that this peninsula would have to go, I wanted a much more open feeling space.

I like pastels, but the pinkish hue of these cabinets just didn't suit me well. I felt like I was living in the Barbie Dream Kitchen!

Finally, almost 2 years later, it was "Showtime" and we started ripping everything out. Had we lost our minds? Renovating a kitchen is bad enough, but to start renovating a whole house...all at once...we must be crazy! At least the cabinets went to a good home at our local Habitat Re-store

Walls came down, which meant dust came UP...and went EVERYWHERE! Drywall dust became a 5th food group in our house as we suffered through nearly 4 months without a kitchen. Cottage cheese became a staple in our house, as did food from the local Mexican restaurant!

Richard was our wonderful contractor, here he is in front of where the new sink wall will be and the new windows. Once the wall was gone I kept asking why we needed to put another one back up...the view was so nice with no walls! At that point my husband asked if what I really wanted to live in was a Yurt so that I could roll up the walls each day! Hey...not a bad idea!

Ahh the new window was finally in, and the new family room windows were in too, this was an exciting day. I confess that I would sometimes stand and pretend I was doing dishes just to see what the view would be like!

And then finally the dust had all settled and the light was shining bright at the end of the tunnel and we had a brand new kitchen! It was a long journey, and it still continues, we still don't have our backsplash installed. We own the tile but haven't found the pile of money I swear I buried in the backyard to get it finished! One day it will all be done, but for now I'm as happy as a clam with how it looks and how it functions!

The peninsula is gone and I finally don't feel like a prisoner in my own kitchen, flow is better and I love having an island again!

I love the simplicity of it all, the crisp white and the stark black make it both homey and serene... I hope.

We added a doorway to the right of the old fridge and moved the fridge over so that I could have a tiger maple topped hutch and a huge food pantry. To the right of the range is a dish pantry, for all of my dishes and crystal...I really do need a 12 step program for this addiction, though I can blame my Mom for some for them, since I inherited both dishes and crystal.

And I love, love, love the new windows. I can't wait until Springtime when I can throw them open and savor the warm breezes. Last Summer and this past Fall it was so nice to have the cool air blowing while I was cooking. The windows were "box" bayed out so the sill is extra deep and I love to use it as another place to showcase personal mementos.

Thanks so much for taking a moment to visit the new heart of our home. In the past 6 months (although it seems much longer since this kitchen has been living in my head for over 23 years!) it has been beating strong with lots of brownies, chili, roasts, and even a big turkey with all of the trimmings. It's now a place where everything has it's place, and a place where family and friends are welcome to gather and enjoy the simple things in life, like a good home cooked meal!

Thanks so much Trish! We love the new space and the dish pantry (the bumped out cabinet) holds all our "pretty" dishware and glassware. The middle doors slide back and hide our microwave, which I love!

I registered to win one of your paintings over at Funky Junk Interiors and I have my fingers crossed that I'll win the "Hayfield" print. I was so torn between which one to pick since they are all beautiful! Thanks for stopping by and love your blog and artwork!

The paint color is Benjamin Moore Heather Gray. It reads more green than gray and I love how it changes color ever so slightly in different lighting. If you want me to send you a close up photo of it, just let me know!

That really and truly is my dream kitchen. We just had black counters installed in our kitchen this past summer, and next summer I want to paint the cupboards white. I love that classic look. I agree it looks homey and serene. Well done!

OMG What a awesome kitchen you have now girl...Oh I just love what you did here...its so open and feels so big and clean...Thanks for sharing this once again..Hope you have a GREAT Sunday my friend...Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

I kind of liked the pink - guess I'm a kid of the 50s/60s but you're probably right living there every day would be like being in a Barbie house. It's gorgeous now the way you re did it. Ok so it's much nicer. LOL I do love it.We redid our kitchen, moved all the picture windows around and the sliding glass doors, redid the bathroom (still have another one to do). So I know exactly what you are going or went through. A lot of hard work. I'm fortunate to have a very talented husband who has done it all and built our deck. I design them and he builds.

You guys did an amazing job of this reno. You have great taste. I just big "L" love your sink. You did the right thing by imagining yourself washing the dishes. That is how we get a good result in a reno is by doing walk throughs in our minds.

Ohhh my goodness...what an awesome kitchen rennovation! My friend, your kitchen is fabulous...I just love everything about it!!! Love, love, LOVE the style of cabinetry that you chose and I love the creamy white with the black...so classic and sooo classy!!! I just adore your little hutch that you added beside the doorway...beautiful! And...I love your "boxed" bay windows!!! My friend, your fabulous kitchen is my "dream kitchen" for sure! I'm still waiting to rennovate my old kitchen and this is exactly what I would like to do!!! Wow...you guys did a magnificent job...love the layout, love the style, just love it all!!! Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous kitchen rennovation with us for Sunday Favorites...I just love these kind of posts!!! Loved seeing all the photos of the process...so very interesting!!!

Well my friend, I just adore your beautiful home and delightful blog! I have added you to my list of blog follows and really look forward to your upcoming posts...as well as going back through all of your past posts! I'm anxious and excited to see more of your beautiful home!!! It's so very nice to meet you!!!

I do apologize at being so late to get by for a visit but I have really been enjoying my daughter and five grandbabies surprise visit from Texas! Thank you again for joining in with the fun of Sunday Favorites...sure hope that you'll join us again!!!

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Isn't it great to be able to share it with more than just your houseguests. I love the internet. I love that I can see your beautiful kitchen even though I may never meet you. What an inspiration! Lisa~ www.livingmybestlifeii-lisa.blogspot.com

When I first started reading I was thinking - what? these pictures have to be like someone (else's) AFTER shots. I agree not to my taste either, but in such good shape. Your AFTER is spectacular though....and I totally think it was worth time, money, and cottage cheese/drywall diet.

I LOVE your kitchen...yes, my dream kitchen too!! However, my kitchen is so much smaller and I don't think there is any way to make it bigger...but I can sure paint the cabinets! Is your countertop soapstone? Its gorgeous! And, where did you get the pendants over the island, if I may ask? I love those to!!

Hi Anon, my counters are soapstone and they are Green Mountain Original, we love them, but they do ding and scratch, so keep that in mind if you decide you want SS. It hasn't been a problem, I actually think it adds to the patina, but that's just me! ;-)

The lights are by Troy Lighting and they are from their Owings Mill collection. You can find them on the web, ours came from Bellacor.com

BRAVO! That is one of the most beautiful kitchens I've ever seen! I love how clean and bright it is... and the windows are to die for!! Really, really lovely. Enjoy every moment of it. I think it's gonna bring lots of JOY to your home!

Your kitchen is amazing! I can only dream of a white kitchen, my husband likes our cabinets now, so I'm afraid I have to make them work. I am absolutely in love with your lights, so thank you so much for sharing the info!

I know this is an older post but I sure hope you get this. I'm new to blogging and just came across your site. I just wanted to let you know how wonderful your kitchen is. I absolutely love it. You must be in heaven it really is very warm and inviting for sure. You did a great job! Beautiful!

Your kitchen is so beautiful! I'm in the process of re-modeling my kitchen. I chose BM Simply White for our cabinet color. I believe yours are Simply White as well. I'm wondering what color trim you used? I'm not sure if the trim color should match the cabinet color or not...

Thank you so much, and would you believe that over a year later I still don't have my backsplash installed! Sad I know, but I have the tile, and it's beadboard and bronze tiles with and inset of onyx in sea glass colors. It's all sitting in boxes in our daughter's room!!! I have it on my list of things to do! I also have pictures of some of the tile on another post about my kitchen.

YOUR kitchen is just beautiful! I hope to have the "mini" version some day in our cottage! Visit my new blog and "Follow" when you have a moment. Thanks for letting me visit, I really enjoyed it!http://oceanbreezesandcountrysneezes.blogspot.com/

Your kitchen is perfect! I am about to have my kitchen cabinets repainted and I am trying to figure out what sheen (gloss, semi-gloss, etc) you selected for the BM Simply white paint color. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi Anon, thanks so much! The sheen level is a satin finish, and it cleans up really nicely. The cabinetmaker also put an additive into the paint to help it harden and dry more quickly so I don't know if that changed the sheen level at all or not.

About Me

I am a mom to 2 wonderful children, wife to an amazing husband, loved by 2 fluffy puppies, a freelance writer, fine art photographer, and a lover of all things beautiful which I hope to share with you here on my blog.